NCSC - Day 51 Graduation Day

28 MAR

0900

We graduated today with salutes, speeches and prayer.

I find myself not ready to leave.

I will miss Gunny warning us that we won't graduate

I will miss Choi's dead pan humor and us adding his name to any song or catchphrase

I will miss getting picked on by the Gunny for everything from my height to my middle name

I will miss Moon's response of "I look confused when I think"

I will miss the Gunny telling Rosenzweig that she has been mispronouncing her own last name her whole life

I will miss Hervey getting picked on for having four kids when Jewell (who sits right next to him) has four as well

I will miss seeing Arant, who has been with me on this journey since ODS (KILO!)

I will miss Byrd's "F----AITH!"

I will miss Gunny saying "Okay. I'll play your silly game"

I will miss the RPs for all the entertainment they provided and the friendships that we established

I will miss the theological discussions and peaceful moments

I will miss the fellowship that I have come to appreciate that has helped me grow as a chaplain, as a rabbi and as a person

I woke up this morning and already missed my shipmates for all of these reasons and more.

I pray that I will see them again soon and maintain the bonds that we have established here at the school house.

May I be privileged to be in the command of my teachers so that I can continue to learn from them in another setting, another stage of my military chaplaincy.

God, watch over my shipmates and our RPs as they go out into the fleet. Let them do good work as they bring peace and hope to the sailors, marines and coasties. May You give their families the strength to support them, wherever the NAVY takes them. And may I join them soon.

OORAH.

NCSC - Day 50 Chief of Chaplains

The Chief of Chaplains (CoC) addressed us today and he focused on his three priorities for the Chaplain Corps (CHC).

1) To serve our people - to serve those of our faith groups and everyone else and "strengthen spiritual readiness and resilience". The CoC has charged us with helping our warriors bounce back and heal spiritually.

2) to serve the leadership of the Naval Services (Marines, Navy, Coast Guard) - we are, according to regulations, responsible for advising the command on issues of religion and morality. Through that relationship we build with our leadership, we will be able to do our jobs.

3) to serve each other - if we work together, we will be stronger and be able to learn from one another. We will be be able to grow, mentor the next group of chaplains and have people we can lean on when we need help.

I am looking forward to seeing this priorities in action.

NCSC - Day 49 Sacred Sabbath

As we are two days from graduation, we never stop learning. Today's mentoring moment came from the commanding officer of the Navy Chaplaincy School and Center.

Carve out time every day, even five minutes, for intense prayer and meditation to recharge your soul. You (we) need sacred sabbath time during the day.

Why is this so important?

Because operational tempo (the life of an active duty chaplain) does not stop.

When the captain said this, I thought to myself how everyone - not just clergy - could use this. Taking 5 minutes out my schedule to talk to God should would probably improve my day.

Could you imagine if EVERYONE took five minutes in the middle of their day to meditate (or talk to God)? How much calmer we could be? How much more in tune with others and our own souls? I may pray in the morning but this is not "prayer" time. This is "I am going to talk to God for 5 minutes and no one, not even God, is going to interrupt me" time.

I am going to start today.

(The captain made clear that trying to take five minutes at night does not work because we'll be so wiped from the day, we'll just fall asleep. Words spoken from experience.)

NCSC - Day 48 Sabbah

Last night, the sky turned a greenish-yellow, the thunder rolled in, you could see the lightening and the rain and hail poured from heaven.

And I thought of my grandfather.

When I told my family that I was coming to Ft. Jackson, my grandmother mentioned that she and my grandfather had been stationed here twice during his active Army service.

I don't know how many people can say that a grandfather and granddaughter were stationed at the same base - especially when they served two different branches of the military.

As I watched the lightening storm, I remembered doing this exact same thing with my Sabbah on his porch in the house in New Jersey. I remembered not being scared of the sounds and sights as a young child but rather found the experience fascinating and exciting because my Sabbah was with me.

And last night, I pulled up a chair and watched the show.

And for the first time in a long time, I wished he was here so that I could share my military journey (as limited as it is) with him.

NCSC - Day 47 Chevre

I have been attending the Conservative congregation in town for services while I have been at Ft. Jackson.

I was embraced so quickly and I looked forward to Shabbat each week.

It was hard to say goodbye to them as this was my last Shabbat here.

The upside is that if and when I come back to Ft. Jackson for the advanced course, I will already have ties to the community.

It made the parting bittersweet.

NCSC - Day 46 Easy Day

It's the last Friday of training.

So how do we celebrate? A morning run with the Commanding Officer.

And what gift did we get?

We were dismissed at 14:00.

And what did I do with all this free time?

I saw 'The Hunger Games'

Shabbat Shalom.

NCSC - Day 45 A little extra RMTEX

Today in Ft. Jackson, the temperature hit 80 degrees.

Our classroom hit 81+ degrees. At one point, it got so hot in the classroom we were given the opportunity to remove our blouses (not the t-shifts underneath).

When even that was not helping and the heat in the room was climbing, we switched rooms and eventually released an hour early from class.

After RMTEX, a little heat is easy to handle.

NCSC - Day 44 PT

This was the second to last PT session we are having as a class.

I did well. I pushed myself the entire time.

I am going to miss doing PT with my class as a class. There is something about pushing yourself because the people around you are pushing themselves and cheering you on that I will miss.

It is that quiet moment at the end of the workout when you look around and smile at everyone because we pushed through and conquered the challenge.

You get a pat on the back from someone who is proud of you for working so hard and not giving up.

How will I take that with me?

NCSC - Day 43 Starting the Count Down

We are at day 43 with exactly one week to go.

It does not feel like we have a week left, even though we started graduation practice today.

I cannot imagine that I only have one week more with the same people who have changed my life, my thinking towards ministry, my relationship with God and how I study Torah.

On the one hand, I am ready to leave and at the same time, I don't want to go.

I struggle with the realization that I am returning to civilian life and do not want to lose the indoctrination and militarization that I have grown accustomed to.

In seven days, I will have no choice.

Until then, I tell someone to 'stand by' as I put the phone down to my side in order to render a salute or if I am being saluted.

NCSC - Day 42 RMTEX Debrief

in class today, our class instructor led our debrief on RMTEX and gave us this take-away from the experience.

Even when you are tired/cranky/cold, you still need to be the bearer of the presence of God.

Our job is to be strong enough so the sailors and marines can draw from our inner-peace even during times of chaos - regardless of whether that chaos is external or inside them.

Those marines and sailors will be looking to you and thinking to themselves, if the Chaps can do it, so can I.

NCSC - Day 41 Recovery III

I didn't realize that I would be so tired that I needed another day to recover.

My recovery must be going well because I got a run in before dinner.

NCSC - Day 40 Recovery II

I spent today recovering from RMTEX.

After sleeping in a small tent with someone else for three nights and not getting much sleep, a bed, any bed feels so great. No rocks under your back. No wearing the same uniform for five days straight with no showers.

I did not wake up to morning colors (0600). I did not hear the bugle. That's how tired I was.

Thank God for Shabbat.

NCSC - Day 35-39 RMTEX

RMTEX - Religious Ministry Team Expeditionary Exercise

The week-long field experience for Chaplains (officers) and Religious Personnel (enlisted)

This was my experience of RMTEX

To be clear - part of RMTEX is to up the anxiety factor by us not knowing the schedule or times of anything.

Day 1:

We boarded the vans with our 65 lb. packs at 0600 and drove to an obstacle course.

The purpose was to build teamwork and communication between chaplains and RPs with the hope of fulfilling the objective. The obstacles included having to use planks to get an oil drum or an ammo can or the whole team from one side to another side.

After lunch (MRE - meals ready to eat), we reviewed what we had learned regarding care in combat and then were sent into a simulation with real victims, loud noises, the sound of mortars falling, smoke everywhere - it was chaos. The point was for us to experience what care in combat really feels like. I appreciated all my time on the ambulance because I felt more prepared for what I saw.

We got to the campsite and set up our tents - one chaplain and RP per tent. I picked Seaman Arnold.

Once our tents were set up, it was light out enough that we tested out our land navigation skills. It was a great first effort.

Dinner was... you guessed it...MREs. And of course, what would camp be like without watch duty at night. I got the 2100 to 2300 shift.

Day 2:

Today we faced the Confidence Course. For someone who does not enjoy heights and is only 5 feet tall, this was going to be a physical and internal struggle. Some obstacles were individual and some were group efforts and in my case, it was a team effort for me to get through some of the individual obstacles. There were obstacles like '5 walls' where you have to get your whole team over the wall. Each wall was taller than the last one. I finished about 80%+ of the obstacles. By the end, I knew my arms and legs were going to hurt. I was very proud of being able to overcome some fear of heights and gain lots of confidence.

You would think that after a morning like this that we'd be done. NOPE.

Once we got back to camp and it was dark out enough, we had our first night navigation practice run. Epic fail. But it was fun hunting around in the dark for 2 hours.

Day 3:

Victory tower has 4 parts. There's a ladder climb, a repelling wall, commando crawl (lay down on the rope and pull yourself across - you're about 50 feet off the ground), tight rope bridge uphill and a descending cargo net.

Victory tower - conquered.

Next up, the gas chamber. We had our gas masks on and they threw in CS gas with us. They had us do jumping jacks to get our heart rates up while our skin began to get irritated from the gas. We had to remove our masks and put them back on, remembering to clear the mask so we don't breath in the gas. At the end, I breathed in the gas, started choking and my eyes burned. After being outside the gas chamber for about 5 minutes, I was feeling better but my eyes still burned and the CS gas was on/in my uniform. The van ride back from the gas chamber was WORSE than the gas chamber itself because we did not have our gas masks on.

And all of this was before 1300.

After lunch, we ran through a shorter version of the CFA - the combat fitness assessment. It is the Marine Corps version of the PFA (Physical Readiness Test or Physical Fitness Assessment - basically a fitness test). The difference is that we run 2 laps in our combat boots, ammo can lift for 2 minutes and an obstacle course that includes an ammo can run, a body drag, fireman's carry, grenade throw, push-ups and sprints.

And it was my pleasure to have watch duty again from 0100 to 0300.

Day 4:

Today we woke up late. 0600. We were gone by 0725.

We were divided into teams of 6 and given one MRE for the whole group for the day. We could drink as much as we liked.

We headed over to the land navigation site and were there for about 6 hours navigating from one point to the next using a compass, map and protractor. At some point, we decided to take an hour's nap. When we returned to base camp, we were given a GPS and found the final 2 points in half an hour. When we returned to base camp the second time, we napped for a few more hours while waiting for the other groups to return.

We drove to another site and got our packs and hiked into another part of the base for night navigation. We were there for hours. My partner and I found 2 points. (Night navigation is done with no lights whatsoever.)

At the end of the night navigation, we got our packs and hiked. It was not an easy hike with a 65lb pack on my back and having to bend forward to keep from falling over. If I had known had far the hike was, I would have pushed myself a little harder. I am just glad to have accomplished it.

The staff ended RMTEX with a meeting at base camp and food.

Day 5:

We got back to the hotel at 0045. I was not ready to sleep so I unpacked my pack, emptied out my dirty laundry and showered. I was in bed by about 0200.

We reported to the classroom at 1000 and were out of there by 1100.

I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning, trying to nap and prepping for Shabbat.

Highlights from RMTEX:

Conquering victory tower

Getting to know just about all the RPs

Having the war-wounds from my successes

Night navigation

all around competence

If offered the opportunity, I would do it all again.

I would not have this opportunity in the pulpit.

NCSC - Day 34 Prep Day

We leave for RMTEX tomorrow so I spent lots of time today getting my pack ready.

I am not even sure how much it weighed before I added all of the stuff I had to pack.

This should be interesting.

An aside: We return from RMTEX on Friday.

I am pretty sure that the first thing I won't do when I get back is blog about the week.

I'll get to it before TEAMS begins (the last phase of NCSC).

NCSC - Day 33 Shabbat at Beth Shalom

I don't think I could me more lucky to find such a warm, welcoming shul like Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia, S.C.

I could use a few extra hours to sleep but I look forward to going to Shabbat morning services. There is an incredible Chevre that are so happy to see me. The services are comfortable, the rabbi's sermon blows me away each week and I got a call asking if I was interested in reading Torah. I volunteered to read Megillah for Purim and ended up reading 4 chapters. I was just grateful to give back to a community that has given me a community away from my community at JTS.

NCSC - Day 32 PRT

Today, we took our final PRT (fitness test that includes sit-ups for 2 minutes, push-ups for 2 minutes and a 1.5 mile run) at 5:30am.

I am happy to report that I made progress in all three categories.

I am not sad that this is the last PRT I will have to take until I am on active duty.

Shabbat Shalom.

NCSC - Day 31 Purim

I had a pleasant surprise today. I had the opportunity to join all the other Jewish chaplains in the Army, Navy and Air Force Chaplain schools for a complete Sephardi Megillah reading and a Seudah with home baked Hamentaschen.

NCSC - Day 30 Morning Devotions Part II

This morning, I gave the morning devotions in the Protestant prayer lab. This is the gist of what I shared.

This mornings devotions come from the book of Esther, chapter 4 verse 14b.

It is appropriate as Purim is tonight.

The book of Esther tells of a silly king, a slick vizier, a hesitant queen and a wise uncle and the salvation of the Jews from potential annihilation. There seems to be someone missing from the story. Where is God?

On Passover, during the Seder, we retell the story using the verses from Deuteronomy and not from Exodus so that God is the key player, not Moses as compared to the Exodus story where Moses plays a significant role.

On Chanukkah, God has a hand in both the military victory of so few versus so many and the miracle that the oil lasted eight days.

So why isn't God a more obvious presence in the book of Esther?

My answer is this.

God is in between.

God is in between Mordechai and Esther, Esther and the King and every "coincidence" in the story. But there are so many coincidences that one could say that it was in the inconspicuous or conspicuous places.

Consider these examples.

God had the foresight to put Esther into a position of influence with the King to save the Jews.

God put Mordechai in the right place and at the right time to save the king.

The first time the king had a party, the result was him kicking out his wife. But at the celebration for his new wife, he did not.

We see God in between.

We acknowledge the hand of God in the story and as outsiders looking in, it's easy.

We also acknowledge the hand of God in our own lives.

Through that recognition, we appreciate the gifts we have and we can share that faith and understanding with others.

We need to remember that unlike our ability to look in on the story and see God's involvement, not everyone can do so in their own lives.

Our job, is to illuminate God's presence in their lives.

Like a lighthouse for ships, lighting their way home, so too are we for those who wish to find God.

May we never forget the power of that responsibility and may we have enough light for ourselves and others.

NCSC - Day 29 Driver

I am the driver for squad 1 for some time now.

I was more voluntold than volunteered.

So today, when the Gunny asked us who was driving to dinner tonight, I raised my hand.

"You, ma'am??" He looked shocked and tried to stop himself from laughing.

"Yes, GnySgt."

"Do you use pillows?" That was it. He started laughing along with the rest of the class.

"No GnySgt. But whoever sits behind me has a ton of leg room." More laughter and appreciation that the Gunny feels comfortable enough with us to joke around.

And this is how we ended Phase I of Chaplain School.

Aside: I had to say goodbye to my table-mate, Chaplain Candidate Hardison. He is not staying for all three phases along with Chaplain Haber and Chaplain Candidate Grimes. The class will not be the same without you.

NCSC - Day 28 Fire drill

During class today, the fire alarm went off unplanned. Our class filed out and once outside formed up into our squads in formation.

We looked to our left and our RPs (religious personnel - enlisted members who have chosen the religious personnel specialty) were also in formation by squad and our instructors were making sure that all Navy and Marine personnel were accounted for.

We look to our right and one of the other chaplain schools and they were milling about, not checking attendance, showing no discipline.

Seriously?

NCSC - Day 27 Lazy Sunday

Since this coming week begins RMTEX training before we go out into the field, I should take advantage of my ability to sleep in and get some work done.

Well, I slept in.

NCSC - Day 26 Evening Colors

When the ensign (flag) is lowered for the evening, a song is played across the base.

Everyone stops and comes to attention.

Since I am usually asleep by 20:45 (8:45pm), I do not hear evening colors because it plays at 21:00. Recently, I heard it and started to chuckle. Then I started to sing along.

And how would I know the words to Army's evening colors, especially since there are no words?

Because Camp Ramah took the tune for Army evening colors and created a song for bedtime.

That's right, Rad Ha'Yom's tune was taken from the Army.

Rad Hayom (the day is done)

Shemesh Dom (the sun is gone)

Kochavim Notzetim BaMarom (the stars are twinkling in the sky)

Lyla Bah (the evening has come)

Limenuchah (to give rest)

Shalom, Shalom. (peace, peace) [may you have peace]

Shavuah Tov.

NCSC - Day 25 Victory Ranch

Victory Ranch is a place to send warriors who need down time to recover and re-energize from the daily stress of military life.

Today, we had the privilege of visiting VR.

We could fish, sleep, play cards, watch movies, play basketball or follow the trails on the property.

I played basketball for 3 hours with Byrd, Moon, Bayer, GnySgt and Jewell.

More than the basketball, this was a place to bond with my classmates - whether it was on the court (in a barn) or playing cards or talking during a meal. These are the people I will be turning to for support when I am out in the fleet and they will turn to me. What better way to build up cohesion than sweating all over each other during a basketball game where no-one is keeping score?

NCSC - Day 24 Short Day

We knew it was going to be a warm day when we walked out of the Lodge to go to PT and we had taken off our caps, gloves and sweats.

By 11:00, the temperature of classroom hit 80 degrees so the afternoon classes were canceled. Of course, that meant that the GnySgt was going to have to find something to do with us. So, we spent an hour cleaning and preparing our packs for RMTEX and asking all the questions we had. (Religious Ministry Team Expeditiary Exercise - more on this later.)

What did I learn at our RMTEX brief? That when you go to buy 'suck-it-up,' you'll find it next to the icyhot and 'man-up.'